


Finding Negativity in Sinister Spaces

by Dragonofl5



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Mad Science, Not Canon Compliant, Science Experiments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-22 20:22:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8299598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonofl5/pseuds/Dragonofl5
Summary: In an alternate timeline, Vincent Valentine sets Nibelheim ablaze after being confined to the basement of the Shinra Manor for 10 years, still emotionally scarred from the torment he endured at the hands of his own father. General Sephiroth is sent to dispatch a deadly monster in the mountains and prevent the catastrophic failure of the Nibelheim reactor. Their fated meeting uncovers a joint past rife with manipulative scientists, greedy politics, otherworldly beings and enough blood to paint a village red.





	1. Through the Ghost 1 (Prologue)

Sephiroth hears boots coming down the hall moments before they stop at his door. Two soft raps on the hard wood are his warning before Lieutenant Zackary Fair pushes his way into his personal office. He’s in the middle of reading intelligence documents he procured from Tseng earlier in the day, so he ignores the intruder at first. 

“General Sephiroth, Sir.”

He pauses. Piercing green eyes glance up from the paperwork to look at the raven-haired SOLDIER first class with a cool, calm gaze. There is a brief flash of curiosity within them. Zackary never uses formalities when they are alone. 

Zack’s features are set in stone. The warmth in his eyes is muted at the moment, his trademark exuberance tampered down behind a professional and serious demeanor. Business then. 

“Zackary,” he acknowledges, placing the paperwork to the side as he motions for his subordinate to sit. Zack stays standing, instead crossing his arms as if uncomfortable. He reminds him of Angeal in that instant, deadly serious when there is business to discuss. 

Zack, for once, gets to the point. “You’re needed in the board room. Word is, Nibelheim went up in flames an hour ago. They’ve reported a large number of casualties and are requesting medvacs and assistance to contain the destruction.”

Sephiroth doesn't react to the statement. He nods to acknowledge he’s heard the request and stands to retrieve Masamune from behind him. “Is there an issue with the reactor?”

Zack shifts, uncomfortable. “That’s what the rumor is around the SOLDIER floors, but Angeal and I were just there two weeks ago to check things. The place was pristine, everything was running fine. Seems like the least likely option to me.”

He nods and stalks out the door, Zack following along swiftly. “Pass this information on to Angeal, the two of you can discuss the possibility of a reactor meltdown while I meet with the President.”  
He splits off from Zack at the elevators to do just that, the lieutenant nodding once before going off in search of the SOLDIER Commander.

\---

Hours later, Sephiroth stands in the middle of the town that was once Nibelheim. The small country village appears to be nothing more than burnt up twigs on empty foundations, the result of some sort of massive destructive blast. His gaze is drawn to the water tower in the middle of the central square. The rusted metal has melted from the heat of the flames, twisting the tower into an unrecognizable shape. Steam hisses from it as workers douse the hot metal with water in an attempt to cool it and prevent further injuries. He glances past burnt out husks of houses which are now merely black foundations, past SOLDIERS and infantrymen searching for remaining survivors and his eyes land on the charred remains of the Shinra manor. In the distance he can make out the gates, one side missing while the other is torn in half and hanging limply from its frame. The fencing appears intact, untouched by the heat that warped the water tower but the manor looks as if an explosion occurred within, wood from the roof and the right side of the building spread out in a radial zone from the burnt up shell of the rest of the building. The windows have shattered, from the heat or the initial blast he is unsure. The top floors have collapsed into the first floor, the foyer damaged and impassable when he attempts to peer inside the building. As he steps from the front porch back onto the grass, the wood creaks dangerously under his feet and he passes a final, contemplative gaze on the ruins. 

Finding nothing of interest in the manor, he moves back into the central part of town where several survivors are being prepared for medical evacuation. They are severely burned and barely breathing. He knows deep down they will not survive the night, and frowns. Any witnesses to the destruction are either on those stretchers or dead and the likelihood that they will learn any information from the remaining survivors is low. When confronted, Zackary echoes his thoughts on this and gives a frustrated sigh. “What the hell happened here, General?”

Sephiroth turns to face Zack fully, hair sweeping out behind him as his coat shifts. “I am unsure,” he answers, but does not let his frustration show. To the lieutenant he is impassive. “Nonetheless, we must continue up the mountain, secure the reactor and ensure its safety, as per the President's orders. The cleanup crews will handle the removal of the debris and the investigation into what caused the source explosion at the Shinra Manor.”

A grim look settles over Zack’s face, and his hand reaches up to grip the handle of the buster sword strapped to his back. “You believe that whatever did this might still be after the reactor?”

“Evidence would indicate that this was a direct attack on Shinra, perhaps by the townspeople, perhaps by another enemy faction. It would stand that their next target would be something more valuable than the Manor and a few townhouses.” He motions for Zack to follow him towards the trail, both of them moving around and away from Shinra Manor into the mountains. 

“I guess we’ve got a good reason to assume. Though I would think they would blow both places at the same time.” 

“What we should expect is inconsequential. We will assess the reactor’s integrity and dispose of any intruders. Any further questions, Lieutenant?” Sephiroth glanced over at Zack with a raised eyebrow, the edges of his mouth slightly curved upward. Zack huffs and shakes his head. “No, sir. Lead the way.”

\---

It takes them a few hours to reach the flat plateau in the mountains where the Nibelheim reactor sits. When he reaches the steps, his calm façade finally snaps. His brows narrow in confusion as he turns to the raven-haired SOLDIER trailing after him. “There is nothing wrong here.”

Zack lets out a long sigh and plants his hands on his hips. “This is weird Sephiroth. I don’t trust it.” When the two of them are alone like this, Sephiroth lets the formality of titles drop. He settles Masamune back onto its holster along his back and makes his way up the steps and into the belly of the reactor. He finds everything as Zack and Angeal had described two weeks prior: all systems functioning, no failures in pumps or mako tanks. The disturbing creatures in the pods are still present and creepy, and he listens as Zack drones on about the wrongness of the torture they’re being put through. Sephiroth ignores as Zack taps on the glass of one and he moves away from the control panels towards the door. The President had been so certain that the reactor would be targeted he had stressed sending both the General and his Lieutenant, but there appeared to be no immediate threat to the system. They had also, mysteriously, encountered not a single monster during their entire trek into the mountains. Sephiroth was beyond suspicious, considering the President’s fervent belief of a terrorist attack by the supposedly peaceful Wutaians. Perhaps he was grasping for any excuse to invade their country again?

“It seems the reactor was not their ultimate goal. If we are to find anything of importance, we should head back to town,” he says to Zack as he crosses the catwalk that separates the pod room from the door. Zack sighs again and follows behind him, as equally frustrated with their empty-handed search as he is. “What would a terrorist group want with a small mountain town like Nibelheim?” 

"Perhaps we are looking at an internal matt-." Sephiroth freezes as he plants his feet on the bottom step of the reactor. There is a man standing several feet from the entrance catwalks, gold eyes boring into them. He is shrouded in red and black, with skin as pale as moonlight. He can feel Zack tense behind him, ready to draw a weapon, but Sephiroth finds he cannot move. Or breath, really. He thought he buried that man and his memory 10 years ago.

“Vincent….”


	2. Chaos

_“Not quite. But I’ll overlook your lapse of memory this one last time, Sephiroth.”_  


Sephiroth remained frozen where he stood, unable to move as he stared at the man...no, beast standing not 20 feet away from him. Picture perfect memories told him Vincent had been tall and lean, black hair long and uncut, held haphazardly out of his eyes with scraps of an old cloak destroyed from one of their many fights. This was not Vincent.  


That’s not to say that he has no recollection of Chaos. Gaia’s WEAPON, the harbinger of death, confined to the mortal body of Vincent Valentine for reasons Sephiroth had never been able to figure out. Eyes like liquid gold, skin tinted a deep black yet with a face that was pale white. The WEAPON’s left hand ended in long, sharp talons that he remembered being particularly painful when they stabbed through flesh. The gold plating on its hands and feet shined in the outside lights of the reactor, but his gaze was instead drawn to the long-barreled gun pointed directly at him and his Lieutenant.  


_“Who is this?”_  


Sephiroth's eyes narrowed but he didn't register the change immediately. It was as if his mind was somewhere else and his body was reacting for him. Before he could contemplate the feeling, he shook off the shock of the initial encounter and schooled his face into a calm, passive facade. This was Chaos. Chaos was dangerous, but Vincent was not. He ignores any thoughts that perhaps Chaos/Vincent had changed in the time they had been apart and instead focuses on the situation at hand. He has no doubt that Chaos will shoot, the two of them never particularly got along well.  


He subtly shifts to cover Zack from immediate gunfire and lifts his hand to Masamune, sliding into a comfortable defensive posture that would allow him to draw in fractions of a second if it came to a fight.  


“I have orders to kill on sight any threat to the reactor.”  


Chaos laughs, amused, a smirk curling the corners of its lips. The protomateria implanted to the left of its chest shimmers as its body tilts to the left slightly, readjusting the rifle to center it for a mortal wound.  


There’s a tenseness in the both of them as they stare at each other. Sephiroth can feel something odd creeping up the back of his mind, something from a time ten years ago that he thought he had ruthlessly crushed. It brings with it a sense of unease and a niggling voice that used to whisper softly to him in his dreams, of greatness, of power, of destruction and ruin. Of a planet meant for disaster by his hands. He grits his teeth ever so slightly at the sensation, disturbed but unwilling to lose focus when Zack is present to witness and report to others. He uses the reminder of his lieutenant’s presence to balance himself. He shuts out the soft voice and the anxiety and lets a calm nothingness settle over his mind.  


_“I said I would overlook your lapse in memory just once. Perhaps I should remind you of the last time we met?”_ Chaos mocks, and Sephiroth’s didactic memories remind him of motionlessness on a cold lab floor, of bleeding out rapidly from several mortal wounds inflicted by the winged monster in front of him.  


He shakes off the memories and stares the WEAPON in the eyes. “Where is Vincent?”  


_“Indisposed.”_  


“Unacceptable. Release him.”  


Chaos’ laugh is deeper this time. There is a tense second where Sephiroth can feel the impending fight, can smell the gunpowder from fired bullets and feel the slide of his blade against metal and hard carapace before they’re both springing into action. The sound of three simultaneous shots from Chaos’ weapon ring in his ears but it’s overshadowed by the slide of Masamune from his back. He ignores Zack’s calls of warning and steps into the strike that deflects the shots before launching himself forward to press the advantage of close combat. Chaos retreats, gold eyes shining with the promise of a fight as Sephiroth bears down on him, Masamune blurring with the speed of his strikes. Chaos deflects the onslaught with the gauntlet on its left hand and continues to fight defensively, drawing Sephiroth away from the light of the reactors and from the SOLDIER First Class standing worried on the reactor steps.  


Sephiroth can remember a total of three times where he and Chaos were pitted against each other, twice in the labs and once in Wutai. They are memories filled with pain, anger, frustration and bitter hatred, directed at both himself and others. Fighting like this, fast and hard against a worthy and capable opponent should feel exhilarating but in this instance he cannot afford to feel anything. Chaos’ fighting style had always been a difficult mix of martial arts, dirty tricks and the occasional gunshot. It had been an unpredictable fighting style all those years ago and unsurprisingly, it still is. As Sephiroth presses the offensive, driving Chaos back into the mountains away from the reactor, he dodges swipes from golden claws but takes a few hard hitting punches, one which knocks the breath from his lungs. Masamune sings as it slices through the air, but the slashes that do hit barely damage the WEAPON, whose skin is hard and protective. He changes his style to account for the lack of damage he is inflicting but Chaos puts distance between them to fire a round of bullets at his chest.  


He dodges and moves to strike again, but something changes between them as Chaos lowers his gun, lips curved in a smile. _“You’ve changed.”_  


“You have not,” he sharply replies, pulling back to let Masamune rest in his left hand by his thigh, lowered but still deadly. From the corner of his eye he notices their remote location, the peaks of the mountains rising up around them. Zackary is nowhere in sight, but Sephiroth knows he will find them shortly.  


Chaos raises his left hand and clenches his fingers. Before Sephiroth can retaliate, there is a pain so sharp in his chest that he’s left breathless. He reaches a gloved hand up to check for damage but knows there will be no physical marks. He feels a pulse of something move from his chest out toward his limbs and finds that he can’t breathe. His heart beats harshly as he greets his teeth against the pain, fighting to regain control of his limbs to launch an offensive attack at the WEAPON. He attempts to take a step forward, or at least attempts to tell his limbs to move, but finds them numb. Masamune drops to the ground soundlessly, his knees hitting beside it seconds after and somewhere in the back of his mind that soft voice screams in agony. Chaos has taken control of the calamity within his body. It is a similar feeling to the first time the WEAPON had done it upon their initial meeting, but back then he had been young and naïve, unaware of the monster lurking just beneath his skin.  


_“You are still beholden to Jenova. Her lifeforce still weaves with yours like a poison.”_ The mocking tone in Chaos’ voice is gone, replaced with a venomous hatred that is familiar. _“I thought that ten years would be enough time for you to be rid of her influence, but I suppose I was wrong. You haven’t changed.”_  


Sephiroth feels something within himself change as a static wave of energy crashes over his body. The pain quickly fades as the feeling overtakes him. A small ringing begins in his ears and gradually crescendos into a roar, like the ocean crashing over the cliffs on the eastern continent. With it comes a rage so acute his vision turns black and he drops into a headspace that is all-consuming and utterly terrifying. He is death and destruction incarnate, invincible, a God among men. He launches himself at Chaos as every cell in his body sings for the monster’s death, Jenova screaming for the creature’s ruin, but Chaos is the planet’s WEAPON. Gaia herself has tasked it with the protection of the lands from things like the alien thriving on every cell in his body. They fight, Sephiroth’s rage fueled by the insanity he had been steadily avoiding since the day Vincent walked from Midgar, broken and defected. He shouts out in anger, Masamune slicing down hard from right shoulder to left hip, drawing back to stab forward through soft flesh. The protomateria within Chaos’ chest shines as the beast unleashes a powerful blast of magic, tossing the silver-haired General a few feet backward before he plants his boots in the earth. He snarls as he lunges back in, aiming to kill with a slash to the throat or a stab through the heart, but is thwarted when Chaos beats his wings and takes to the sky, fire flashing from the end of its barrel as it fires a few rounds at Sephiroth’s head.  


Sephiroth mindlessly casts a shield to catch the bullets, teeth clenched in anger as Jenova writhes angrily within him, dissatisfied with his inability to kill the WEAPON. The cat-like features of his eyes sharpen as he adjusts his grip and dives back in for another flurry of fast sword strikes. With a harsh jerk he stabs the sharp point of Masamune through Chaos’ left wing and the beast growls in anger, slashing sharp talons down Sephiroth’s sword arm. Blood blooms underneath the leather of his jacket but the black rage swirling in his head prevents him from feeling the pain. He is a god. Nothing will defeat him. He will rid this forsaken planet of this failed WEAPON and kill every last human who dared deny him his heritage.  


With a sharp twist, Masamune slices the wing in half.  


He is all-powerful, a calamity. This planet is a dark husk beneath his feet and he will ride it to destruction. He will bring forth the end of the world, destroy those who betrayed his Mother, kill them all.  


A well-placed kick from Chaos strikes Masamune from his hands but he does not falter. The ringing in his ears gets louder and louder until everything becomes background noise. The sound of Zack rushing into the clearing is lost to him. His right hand lashes out to catch the gold-covered hand aiming for his ribs as his left leg plants a solid kick to the beast’s stomach. He follows Chaos to the ground and plants a hand on its face, smashing its head into the hard earth twice before the beast’s feet catch and he bucks Sephiroth off. Sephiroth rolls, hand snatching up Masamune in a heartbeat before he launches the sword at the WEAPON like a javelin.  


With a satisfying sound Masamune sinks to the hilt just below Chaos’s right breast, where the hard red plating protecting most of its upper body gives way to black skin. The momentum causes the WEAPON to take a step back, growling. Sephiroth is on it in a flash of movement, his hand on the hilt of the sword and he slashes out and to the left. Masamune cuts sharply through skin and bone and Chaos howls. A sick sense of satisfaction washes over him as Jenova purrs, pleased. A manic grin spreads across his lips as he readies for another deadly strike, but Chaos manages to plant the barrel of his gun directly above Sephiroth’s stomach and fires.  


There is a sharp, white-hot pain and his vision blanks. The ringing in his ears stops.  


Jenova’s voice is momentarily blanked from his mind as he drops to his knees, the breath knocked out of him.  


Zack cries out several feet away in shock and starts running towards them, but Chaos snarls again, sinks his talons into Sephiroth’s shoulder and tosses the both of them over a cliff. They fall into darkness as his eyes roll into the back of his head and he loses consciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chaos is my favorite character. He'll probably make more appearances soon. Hope you enjoyed.


	3. Through the Ghost Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth lets him go quickly, unable to bear the closeness. He paces a few steps, hands clenched. “You never offered me a thing, Vincent. You left Shinra in hopes that you would find your end.” You left me to rot he doesn’t say.

_“Soul wrought of Terra corrupt,_

_quelling impurity,_

_purging the stream to beckon forth_

_An ultimate fate!”_

“Genesis?”

_“Behold!_

_Mighty Chaos,_

_OMEGA’s squire to the lofty heavens.”_

“Genesis, what are you reading?”

Genesis smiled and turned towards Sephiroth, who is perched on the edge of a table flipping through military reports. The silver-haired General gazed back at him from under his lashes, a slight frown settled on his lips.

“Do you not have a love for ancient literature, my friend?” The thin book snapped shut with a flick of his wrist and he tucked it away in his red leather coat. Sephiroth shook his head lightly, amused, and turned back to his reports.

“And where in Midgar did you find such a text? Some lovesick fan who wrote it, perhaps?” Sephiroth said into the papers as he turned to sit behind the desk. Genesis scoffed and placed a glove hand over his heart, melodramatically wounded.

“To think that I would take advantage of a young woman’s affections. Really Sephiroth, how cruel!” The brunette made a show of tossing his hair for effect, the humor of the inside joke not lost on his seated friend. Sephiroth only huffed a laugh. “It was given to me during our time in Wutai, in fact. That time we were stationed within the jungle and came upon a mystic’s hut. Do you remember? He wanted to be left alone and we agreed.”

“The memory comes to mind, yes.”

Genesis smirked, amused. 

“However, our orders were exterminate, not leave a soul behind.” Sephiroth stated. Matter of fact. Emotionless.

“Well, his belongings were interesting, at least. I thought that maybe his memory could live on in the information his writings provided us. Most of it was trash, of course, talk of spirits and creatures living in the trees, but there were one or two gems I was able to salvage from his collection.” He stroked his hand softly over where the book rested beneath his coat. “This was one of them.”

“What makes you believe it is both authentic and old?” Sephiroth reached across the desk for a pen and jotted down a few neat lines of text at the bottom of his current report.

“I had it translated from an ancient language by an old contact of mine. A dead language. Some of the words do not translate and he had to make many inferences, but I suspect the drawings helped at least a little. He thinks it was written by an ancient civilization that walked Gaia millennia before the Shinra Electric Power Company decided to make the world theirs.”

“I never assumed you a historian, Genesis.” Sephiroth sat the pen down and raised his eyes to look at his friend fully. They were currently stationed near Junon, tasked with assessing the plausibility of creating a military port in the town. Genesis had originally not been assigned the task, but had pulled a few strings and manipulated himself into the helicopter. Sephiroth couldn’t say he was disappointed; it had been several months since they had seen each other for longer than five minutes at a time. There were very few things present in his life that brought him true happiness anymore, and being able to spend some downtime with his friend of 6 years at least brought him some peace.

He had met Genesis and Angeal formally a few times throughout their ascent through the ranks of SOLDIER. Particularly promising candidates that moved from Third to Second class in shorter than the standard promotion time always caught his attention, as it was his duty as General of the Shina Army to pay attention to those sorts of things. He had handed both of them their promotions personally in his office, and had taken note of the calm stoic air Angeal exuded and the almost bratty confidence Genesis portrayed. It was rare to find lower-ranked SOLDIERS that were not intimidated by his personality and sharp features. To have these two newly-promoted Seconds in front of him was refreshing.

Before they had walked out of his office, Genesis had turned on his heel with a predatory grin and said he would be back shortly for his First class promotion. The boldness had, at first, bothered him. Could someone so emotional make a good SOLDIER? But Genesis had proven him wrong time and time again. It was an initial surprise to him when the red-head had shown up in his office next to Angeal, ready to receive his First class promotion. Nevertheless, Sephiroth had been uncharacteristically pleased by his progress and ambition. He had a dedication to his work that bordered on religious and an incredibly high mission success rate to back up his cock-sure attitude. He was like no one else he had ever met, and he was glad to have him as both a powerful ally and friend.

Genesis smiled again at him, all teeth. “I hold within me a love of old dead things. Ancient races among them.”

“Remarkable that you’ve found a book other than LOVELESS to page through.” Sephiroth leaned back in his chair slightly, the leather of his jacket creaking softly with the movement. Genesis tossed his head back and laughed, deep and sincere. “The Goddess will forgive me, I assure you. In fact this book talks quite a lot about the gods. There are even passages on the Planet and the WEAPONs it will raise to protect the lifestream when the end of the world is neigh. There is a passage in here, partially translated of course, which talks about stagnating lifestream and how it will flow back to the heavens on the wings of OMEGA, to rejoin the energy which sustains our universe. One has to wonder what grand design our world plays in the scheme of all things.”

Sephiroth hummed an acknowledgement, standing. “We may wonder, but nothing we do can change fate.” He would have to report to the President soon on their initial assessments for the harbor. While spending time with Genesis was enjoyable, he was still here for work, not pleasure. Genesis’ doubtable theories about their planet would have to wait until a more suitable time. He strolled past the younger man on his way to the door.

“Sephiroth,” Genesis called softly. Sephiroth paused and glanced back at him over his shoulder. Genesis’ blue eyes shimmered slightly in the dim light of the room as he looked at him, thoughtful. A wistful look overcame him as he focused on something else, far away in thought

“Have you ever thought about the end of the world?”

 

* * *

 

Sephiroth’s eyes opened slowly, darkness registering at first before his vision settled upon stone. A cave. Breathing shallowly, he attempted to get a better read on his current situation despite the slight panic of waking under circumstances where he could not confirm his safety immediately. It was unlike him to be disoriented upon regaining consciousness, but as Sephiroth remembered the moments leading up to passing out he realized that the combination of Jenova’s presence and splintering pain must have thrown his body into shock.

He tested a small deep breath and suppressed a grimace of pain. His stomach. He briefly recalled getting shot point blank and burned from the heat of the tri-barreled gun before plummeting into darkness. But why had Chaos saved him?

Genesis’ words from the dream rang in his head softly.

Sephiroth glanced to the left and was surprised to see human flesh where Chaos had been previously. Blood red eyes stared back at him passively from behind black bangs, Vincent’s trademark red cloak pulled up over half of his face to conceal his features. They stared at each other for a long moment before Vincent looked away, toward the end of the cave.

There was silence for a long while, neither of them willing to talk. Sephiroth thought it would be most prudent to forget the past and move forward, so he remained silent. It was best to brush off any lingering resentment. He pushed himself to sit up, noticing that the pain from his wounds was minimal considering he needed to curl his stomach to lean upright. Closer inspection of the area where three bullet holes should be only revealed pink scar tissue.

“Curaga. Chaos healed you.” Vincent spoke low, as if he were still getting used to the sound of his own voice.

Sephiroth nodded and propped himself against the damp cave wall, idly running his fingers over the mostly healed wound. Pain had always grounded him slightly, given him the ability to focus clearly on the present. He used it now to focus on the familiar figure next to him so he wouldn't become distracted by old thoughts. He was afraid if he let his mind wander he would begin thinking about the life he lived before Vincent left, when the former Turk had been head of the Department of Administrative Research. Sephiroth did his best to clear his mind of it, schooling his features into stone.

“Why have you brought me here?” He asked, calm and calculated. Vincent shifted to rest a leather-clad forearm on top of his bent knee and sighed so soft it was barely a whisper.

“I did not want to bring you here, to make you a part of this.” There is guilt in Vincent’s voice, a melancholy tone settling over his words. Sephiroth thinks he should take that as some sort of threat, but he doesn’t. Instead, he waits for Vincent to elaborate.

Another long silence comes between them. Sephiroth remembers a time when conversations hadn’t been so stilted between them; a time when they could stand staring out of the vast windows of his office on the upper Shinra floors, the General and the Head Turk, discussing business with the ease of familiar coworkers.

Eventually, Vincent finds his voice. “When I left,” the raven-haired man pauses. “I left without a purpose. Part of me would have you believe that I left for the safety of others, that I was hoping to die out in the fields beyond Midgar.” He glanced at Sephiroth, catching his gaze. “Mentally, I could not bear to be around Shinra any longer, to be in the same place where I was taken apart piece by piece and reformed into the monster I am today. I wandered in hopes that something might catch me off guard, but I was a fool. There are beasts inside me which would die to protect their host body. I lost many days wandering the continent that way, surviving but not living, not aware.”

Vincent reaches a hand out to pull at a loose thread on his cloak absentmindedly, lost in his thoughts. “Eventually I wandered to Nibelheim. I found my way into the manor and walked the hallways, listened to the memories of my childhood trapped within those walls. I spent a few days in the main manor before wandering into the basement without crawling back out. I couldn’t seem to find the drive to want to leave. Ironic, considering it was once all I had ever wanted.”

Sephiroth dug his fingers a little harder across the pink scars marring his abdomen, a sharp reminder to stay focused. He had many unpleasant memories from the Shinra Manor.

“I spent 10 years in the basement of the manor, restless. I was away from people and isolated at last, but that rarely brought me a sense of peace. For a year I rested and nothing bothered me, not even the beasts residing underneath my skin, but eventually they grew restless and began to talk. I passed a few more years doing my best to ignore the whispers and for some time it worked. But then the memories began replaying behind my eyelids no matter how much I shut them out.”

Vincent leaned his head back, blood red eyes staring up at the cave’s ceiling. “I had hoped to run from my past. Instead, I ended up reliving a vast majority of it. You can imagine what sort of perspective you gain about your entire life that way.”

Sephiroth frowned, unable to relate. He had buried their past in the furthest reached of his mind and hadn’t touched them for a long, long time. There were more important things to dwell on, not to mention his work as General of SOLDIER to distract him. Vincent, it seemed, had nothing to keep him from looping back through every torturous moment.

Vincent shifted again, crossing his legs at the ankles while wrapping his arms around his torso. “I used to abhor the thought of suicide. You know this. At least, there was a time when I knew you were vehemently against such a death, but I was seconds from doing it just to stop the constant rewind of my Father’s voice saying the same things over and over again when Chaos began to speak to me.” Vincent’s red eyes locked onto his narrowed cat-like eyes and held his gaze. “He mentioned some interesting theories, mainly about the planet.”

“You believe him?” Sephiroth asked, curious. Chaos had never been particularly chatty when they had met in the past. In fact, when he thought back to their fight by the reactor hours ago, that was the most Sephiroth had ever heard it speak. Had the WEAPON awoken within Vincent in an act of desperation to keep its host alive? He wasn’t entirely sure what would happen to the beast if the host returned to the lifestream.

“I never considered myself in a position to argue. There are things he can do that no creature other than something from the planet should be able to do. He has knowledge that spans millennia, information about cultures that were here ages before our race was. I ignored him at first, but he began to talk about subjects I eventually couldn’t.” Vincent’s eyes shimmered slightly as he held up his right, undamaged hand. Pooled in his palm was a swirling green tendril that twisted and twirled around his gloved fingers. “The lifestream. Chaos commands it.”

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, suspicious. “He…commands it?”

Vincent clenched his fist and the lifestream dissipated into nothing. “Soul wrought of Terra corrupt, quelling impurity, purging the stream to beckon forth an ultimate fate. Behold, might CHAOS. OMEGA’s squire to the loft heavens.”

Sephiroth sucked in a sharp breath, caught off guard. He never thought much of the random exerts Genesis shared from his stolen book during their mutual travels, and truthfully he had never made any connection to those passages and the man sitting across from him now. Perhaps he had denied hearing the name hidden in the ancient text, ignored the inevitability that he would have to face the implications of those words. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, Genesis’ words ringing softly in the back of his head. _Have you ever thought about the end of the world?_

Vincent caught his gaze again, his blood red eyes devoid of any warmth. “Chaos was created with the sole purpose of gathering the lifestream of the planet upon OMEGAs awakening. Together, they will bring about the end of the world and return its energy to the cosmos, where it will be recycled and reborn into new life. Within me rests the capacity to wipe out all that is evil in our world, to rid the planet of Shinra, of those who seek to do more harm than good.”

Sephiroth’s lips quirked down slightly in a frown. “What is it you plan to do with that knowledge?”

He couldn’t see the bottom half of Vincent’s face, but he could tell there was a slight smirk curling his lips by the way his eyes glimmered in the darkness.

“Fate has given me these tools. I would be a fool to deny their use.” 

“You seek the destruction of our planet?”

“I seek to regenerate it, to purify the lifestream so that it may be used to rebuild a better world.”

Sephiroth grit his teeth slightly. “Chaos has convinced you then?”

“There was no need. Can’t you feel it, Sephiroth? Can’t you feel the way Shinra seeks the same end but for their own monetary gain? You’ve always been a puppet to their command,” Vincent says bitterly, an anger simmering in his eyes, “but even you must see the evil in their designs.”

Sephiroth let the insult slide and narrowed his eyes. “There was a time when you were nothing but a boy blindly following the command of his Father. You cannot presume to call me a puppet when our pasts run parallel.”

Vincent’s shoulders shook slightly, his head shifting back and forth as he laughed low. “You are still blind, aren't you? Does Hojo still hold your leash tightly? After all this time, I wouldn't think you were still nothing but a Shinra dog.”

Anger flashed bright in his mind, and Sephiroth found himself on his feet. He fisted two gloved hands into the red cloak covering Vincent’s shoulders and slams the raven-haired man back into the rock. “Do not presume to lecture me when I have nowhere else to go,” he growled, dangerously close to picking another fight.

“I offered you a place!” Vincent bites back at him, and when he’s this close to the man he can see the way the red flashes in his eyes like a firaga material.

Sephiroth let him go quickly, unable to bear the closeness. He paced a few steps, hands clenched. “You never offered me a thing, Vincent. You left Shinra in hopes that you would find your end.” _You left me to rot_ he didn't say. Vincent didn’t back down. Instead, he stalked forward with that powerful grace that has haunted him for the last 10 years. Sephiroth expected him to retaliate with force, to spew vitriol at him about the choices he could have made after he had achieved his position with the company. Thousands of opportunities to leave Shinra and the man who created him, tortured him, behind. But he hadn’t. Not like Vincent. He could never leave like Vincent had. He was trapped. Leashed.

“Come with me.”

Sephiroth paused in his pacing, his back to Vincent who stood a few feet behind him. His mind flashes to Genesis and Angeal, two friends he should have never been able to have, and to Zack, who he considers a close third. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t move to leave either.

“Chaos pulled you off a cliff after shooting you point blank. The SOLDIER accompanying you bore witness. It wouldn’t look like you deserted, if your concern is your company image. Leave Shinra and come with me. Together we can accomplish both our fates.”

Both their fates? Sephiroth sighed, his shoulders dipped slightly. “Things are not always so simple, Vincent.” He moved toward the cave entrance, to where the wind blew softly into the little alcove Vincent had presumably dragged them into after their fall. Vincent followed him but kept his distance, his boots silent on the cave floor.

“Have you controlled her, then?” Jenova’s name didn’t cross his lips, but Sephiroth knew it was there. Vincent clearly remembered those times when he was more calamity than man, mentally besieged by the foreign DNA coursing through his body. Jenova used to speak of his own fate, so similar to the one Vincent had spoken about as Chaos’ host. _The end of the world._

He found the mouth of the cave without replying. Snow was built up slightly just beyond the entrance, the soft powder shifting in the wind. He turned to look at Vincent who had paused to await his answer.

“I changed my fate.”                                                                      

Vincent’s disbelieving smile stayed with him as he hiked his way back towards Nibelheim.


	4. Untitled

“Sephiroth?” Angeal knocked on the hardwood door and paused, listening for noise from the other side.

Nothing. A few moments passed before he knocked again. Sephiroth listened as he huffed, exasperated. “Sephiroth, I know you’re in there. Zack asked Reno to hack the security footage. Let me in, we don’t even have to talk.”

He sighed in favor of replying, setting his long-cold cup of tea down on the coffee table. It figured that Zackary would sic his mentor on him. Angeal was the best at determining the right things to say to someone who wasn’t feeling well. 

Angeal let out a small frustrated sigh and pushed off from the wall. “I’ll be down in the training room if you feel like showing your face today. The SOLDIER exams are tomorrow, we can keep it all business if you like.” His boots made soft, muted thumps on the carpeted floor as he walked away. 

Sephiroth stood and stalked over to the kitchen, dumping the cold tea in the sink. It had been two weeks since he had made contact with Chaos at the Nibelheim reactor. Two weeks and he hadn’t heard anything from or about Vincent since.

The journey back into town had taken him several hours. It was an exhausting trek up back through the mountains and when he finally managed to stalk past the ruins of the Shinra manor he noticed Reno and Rude speaking with Zack. He assumed their conversation pertained to the recovery of his body. He had a difficult time enjoying the shocked looks on their faces as he reappeared, Vincent’s words echoing in the back of his mind. Jenova had been so close to surfacing again that he was struggling to focus on the path forward, vision blurring as whispers distractedly floated around in his head. Zack had taken one look at the thunderous expression on his face and motioned to the chopper sitting idle outside of town. Sephiroth had been glad to see the ruins shrinking in the distance. 

Since then, he found it difficult to sleep. He was having dreams again, ones he hadn’t had for a very long time. They weren’t always filled with the nightmarish sights and sounds of death and destruction, but many often were. Some were underlay with whispering voices, sometimes Jenova, other times Vincent, Chaos, or a twisted version of their voiced fused together. Gold and scarlet eyes haunted him when he awoke soaked in sweat, bloodied hands still clenching at the slick hilt of Masamune. He dreamt of fire sometimes, as if he had been there in Nibelheim to witness the destruction of the town. Other times it was hurricane winds sweeping over the jungles of Wutai that whipped at his blood-soaked hair.

Many of these dreams were not new to him. He had been plagued with nightmares for most of his life and become accustomed to shrugging off the feelings that followed the morning after. But interlaced with the familiar scenes from his past were terrifying visions of the future. Jenova, possessing his body. Chaos, otherworldly and godly, possessing Vincent. The two of them roving town to town slaughtering innocents to fuel the end of the world. 

Madness. Pure madness. 

He wished he could say these feelings were new to him but they were not. Back before Vincent had left the company he had been mentally unhinged, a time bomb waiting to explode. Even the President tiptoed around him for weeks in hopes that the vibrant green in his cat-like eyes meant he was focusing on his work and not on the demise of corporate CEOs. He had prowled hallways, feverish, muttering to himself about everything and nothing all at once. Every single time Vincent would find him. The gunman would trail him through the hallways until the opportunity arose to break him out his hypnosis. Vincent had perfected the skill so well it was like an art form. 

And then he had left….

His lips twisted in a frown as he moved away from the sink. Angeal would be waiting to speak with him about the exams tomorrow, despite his inability to focus on his current work. As General, he was expected to assess each candidate and weigh their worth before signing off on their acceptance. To be honest, he barely felt like getting out of bed. 

He stalked towards the door and swept his jacket over his shoulders. As he approached the elevators at the end of the hall he imagined telling Angeal about the dreams; about Vincent, Jenova and the end of the world. But if there were no solutions he could think of himself then it wouldn’t be a good idea to disseminate blasphemous information among Shinra’s ranks. The Turks would be listening to any conversation they held closely, curious about the details he’d left out of his Nibelheim report. 

He hadn’t expected to run into Zack on his way to meet with Angeal. The lieutenant smiled and waved, altering his course to come stand beside him. Sephiroth nodded in acknowledgement and motioned toward the training rooms in explanation of his destination. 

“Good to see you, Sir,” Zack said, taking a moment to look his friend and superior head to toe. He must have found everything satisfactory because he didn’t immediately bombard him with questions about his well-being. “Headed to see Angeal?” He seemed hopeful. To be honest, Sephiroth had been avoiding him as much as he could since their return to Midgar. He half expected Zack to prod him with a few questions about what he’d seen, but was relieved when the younger man decided to drop the subject for good. He answered Zack with a nod and turned back towards his destination, hoping to avoid any further conversation. Zack smiled a bit wider as he watched him stalk away. 

The door to the training room slid open, but he was met with Genesis’ sharp stare instead of Angeal. He raised an eyebrow towards Angeal, who was warming up in the center of the room, but he dismissed the look with a shrug. Genesis stretched his back and smirked at him. “Well well, didn’t think you’d actually show up this time.”

“Genesis.” Angeal scolded, his gaze cutting to his best friend quickly. Genesis only rolled his eyes and swung his sword in a few loose arcs. 

“Cut the dramatics, Angeal. He knows he’s been avoiding us these past two weeks. Haven’t you?” Sephiroth was pinned with a sharp, intelligent stare, but he refused to comment.

“That’s funny, coming from you. They call you the ‘King of Drama’ for a reason, Genesis.” Angeal planted his hands on his hips and pinned Sephiroth with a look too. 

He was starting to regret showing up now that he was the center of both their attentions. He had barely made it two feet in the door but now he wanted to turn and walk back out. If he were honest with himself, he would call it pathetic. He had handled much worse than a subtle interrogation from his friends. Seeing Vincent had thrown him off his normal routine and he needed to get a hold of himself before some higher power forced him into an interrogation meeting. Despite wanting to avoid the topic, he knew Genesis and Angeal were silently offering their support without trying to pry. It was likely they were fielding questions from anyone unable to locate him. He was lucky to have them, and they deserved answers but at this moment he was unable to provide them. 

“Are you here to lecture me?” He murmured, moving further into the room. 

Genesis ‘tsk’d’, busying himself with checking over his weapon rather than staring. “If I thought it would help, I might.” 

Sephiroth raised his left hand slightly and willed Masamune to appear, hoping the two of them would drop the subject of his avoidance and move on with their sparring session. Usually this would be the time he could relax, remove some of the guard he kept up when in the presence of his subordinates. Now, with Vincent’s reappearance and the stirring of whispers in his ears, he didn’t think it very wise. His condition was difficult to explain at best, and he would have to delve into a significant portion of his past to cover Vincent, their past relationship, and his current predicament. There were perhaps logs in the labs that covered most of his childhood, but they were only accessible by Hojo. 

Angeal noticed his guarded look and sighed as he rolled his shoulders. He hefted up the weight of his broadsword with ease, ready to begin. 

They warmed up with simple moves, Genesis taunting and cocky, Angeal calm and measured. Sephiroth put half the effort he should have into paying attention to the two of them as he deflected their strikes. When the VR kicked on to give them a more realistic setting, he watched as the dusty cliffs of Cosmo Canyon stretched out around them. Genesis launched at him eagerly, attempting to drive him into the cliff face but he side-stepped, raising Masamune to instead deflect the wide strikes Angeal angled at his left shoulder. Their blades clashed heavily. 

The three of them danced around the canyon for a bit, Genesis and Angeal working together in perfect unison in an attempt to bring him to his knees. When Angeal swung low, Genesis slashed high, beautifully choreographed maneuvers that would shred normal opponents to pieces. 

Sephiroth was no normal opponent. 

If he were in a better mood he might toy with the two of them a bit, play on Genesis’ protective instincts and drive Angeal into a corner. He might coax Genesis to throw a few flashy and useless magic spells to run his stamina low or give into his playful tendencies to fight dirty, use his hands and feet to distract from the sing of his blade. 

But today his mood wasn’t in it. He was off kilter, restless from the nightmares and the idea that Vincent was out there somewhere planning to slaughter millions. Jenova was a disastrous buzz just under the surface of his skin, threatening to break the surface with her deceptively sweet words. His preoccupation cost him when Genesis managed to slip in under his guard, sharp blade catching on the leather of his coat. The brunette pulled the swing, but had it connected with flesh Sephiroth knew it would have been a fatal wound. He stumbled, caught his feet under him and fled to higher ground. 

Genesis and Angeal paused their onslaught to look at each other. They simultaneously sheathed their weapons before approaching him and Sephiroth grimaced at the weight of their concern.   
Angeal let out a tired sigh as he came up to him, hand reaching for his shoulder. His presence radiated warmth and comfort and Sephiroth closed his eyes the feeling. Genesis stood farther away, quiet but present, his eyes less piercing, less interrogating. For a few moments they stayed in silent companionship as Sephiroth looked away from them, his shoulders lifting slightly as he tried to calm his nerves. He opened his mouth to say something but ended up closing it again.

“You should come over tonight, Genesis is cooking dinner. It’ll be just the three of us.” He nodded. Dinner would be pleasant and he could always leave if he felt cornered. 

Composing himself a little, he turned towards Genesis and mustered up a small smile. “Try not to burn it this time.” 

Genesis bared his teeth at him, insulted, before flicking his hair out of his eyes. “You know very well that was all Zackary. Insolent brat can’t boil water without burning the pot. Perhaps you should put that into his training regiment, Angeal. Wouldn’t want the poor boy to kill his troops when they’re out in the field.”

“I’ll try to remember.” Angeal huffed a laugh and the two continued their small talk for a few moments. Sephiroth willed Masamune away and stretched his arms out. It hadn’t been enough of a workout to warrant tired muscles, but the exercise was pleasant and helped to clear his head a little. The murmurs seemed to have died down a bit. 

“I will be in my office.” He said to his two friends before he walked out of the VR room. He made it halfway to his floor before he was stopped. 

Tseng glanced him over and raised an eyebrow, motioning towards nothing but meaning everything. Sephiroth squared his shoulders and tilted his head back, attempting to look intimidating. Unfortunately, Turks seemed to be immune. 

“I gave my official report. If you’re curious, you can read it again.” He didn’t have time for a hallway interrogation. He had soldiers to approve and, in the near future, a demon to find. 

Tseng sighed, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thin cigarette to smoke. The man was stressed about something, his shoulders tense, and Sephiroth wondered briefly if there was trouble with the higher ups. Tseng ran the Turks but he was ultimately a dog obeying a cruel, difficult master. It didn’t help that President Shinra hated the half-Wutaian man and his rag tag group of orphans and criminals. 

“We should talk. About Vincent.” Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed before he could stop the reaction. Tseng easily noticed he had hit a nerve and motioned towards an empty conference room. He could lie, he supposed. Lie and say he didn’t have anything to talk about concerning his ex-enemy/friend/lover, but Tseng was smarter than that. He most likely knew everything about Vincent’s whereabouts up until Nibelheim. 

He stepped into the empty conference room and waited while Tseng swept the room of listening devices. When he deemed the area clear he leaned against the table and smoked in silence. Sephiroth stayed on his feet, defensive. 

“He was spotted out by Costa del Sol last evening. Fit the description Zack Fair wrote in his report. You omitted those points from yours, you know. You mentioned you hadn’t known the man.”  
“It was not important to the mission parameters. I am permitted leeway in mission reporting when it suits my needs. What happened in Costa del Sol?”

Tseng smirked, but let the lie slide. “There was a massacre on the beach. I have a witness who said he fled over the ocean afterwards, towards Junon. We have increased security at the base in the event of an attack. Tell me, Sephiroth. What is he after?”

He frowned, no immediate answer coming to mind. What did Vincent want? The end of the world echoed through his thoughts and he shook his head. There had to be something else at play here, some other motive for slaughtering innocent civilians on the beach. “Were there specific targets?” Perhaps Vincent’s mockery of Shinra during their discussion meant he was looking for the destruction of the company? A large majority of executives took weekends at Costa del Sol.

But Tseng only shook his head and snuffed out his cigarette. “Everyone on the beach was killed, regardless of age, gender or occupation. Additionally, there do not appear to be obvious wounds on the bodies. No lacerations, no gunshots, no obvious signs revealing cause of death. The attack seems impersonal, or unintentional. So I’ll ask again; what is he after?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t know?” He leveled Tseng with an even stare. The turk stared back for a few moments before raising an eyebrow. His disbelief was clear, but instead of continuing to pry he moved towards the door. “He’s headed towards Junon.” 

Sephiroth watched him go, curious. Genesis was preparing dinner, Angeal had said. There were soldier exams to proctor and new recruits to approve. He needed to update himself on the movement of his men in the field, on the current status of that rebel group growing in the slums. Numerous other tasks awaiting his supervision…  
He walked to the helipad instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I switch tenses sometimes...I'm trying to fix it.
> 
> Slow interim chapter that took forever to write. Enjoy.


End file.
